As one of my do-it-yourself projects for 2012, I planned to make English Muffins. However, after some blog commentors suggested I try English Muffin Bread instead, I checked it out and it looked much, much easier to make.
I’m so glad I tried the recipe. It’s a winner. So easy to make, so frugal, and so good.
My husband isn’t a huge bread person, but he absolutely adores this bread. He has raved about it repeatedly and is often asking me if we can have it with dinner — or he’s just getting some slices out from the freezer and making them for himself!
Speaking of which, this bread freezes beautifully! I made the loaves and sliced them, packaged them in freezer bags, and froze them. Then, we just take out however many slices we want at a time
Next time, I want to try making this with at least half whole-wheat flour to see how it turns out. Has anyone tried that before?
English Muffin Bread
- 2 1/2 cups warm water
- 3 1/2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 Tablespoons salt
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar (or raw sugar)
- 5 1/2 cups flour (I used unbleached all-purpose flour.)
Mix together all ingredients in a KitchenAid or by hand with a wooden spoon. Cover bowl with a cloth and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled (skip this step if using rapid rise yeast).
Punch down and spoon dough into two well-greased loaf pans (dough will be extremely sticky). Let dough rise again in pans until it reaches the top of the pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from oven. Brush with butter.
Cool completely before cutting. Best served warm or toasted with butter and jam/jelly or honey.
Makes two loaves.
To freeze: Let loaf cool completely. Slice and put in an airtight ziptop freezer bag in the freezer for up to six weeks.
To thaw: Remove the desired number of slices and let thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes to one hour (or thaw in the microwave). Warm in the oven or microwave or toast.
Recipe adapted from One Good Thing By Jillee
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{ 75 comments... read them below or add one }
I just tried this bread for the first time today. Super easy and turned out great. I had it for desert tonight with the strawberry jam that I also made this afternoon. It was a good day in the kitchen!
Sounds yummy!
Looks very good. Does it taste like english muffin?
It looks like it might be a hard bread – what’s the texture like?
It is actually super moist and kind of chewy…exactly like English muffins.
have you tried this in the bread machine? would it work?
I found this http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/english-muffin-bread-recipe.
I wonder what would happen if you substituted half the flour with whole wheat? Looks delicious, I’m adding this recipe to my collection!
everybody: check out the website: www.thefreshloaf.com. It’s a great website to answer all of your bread making questions.
They recommend substituting no more than 25% of the flour with whole wheat flour to start with. I just tried this with a honey white bread recipe. My husband loved the original recipe. When he tried the recipe with 25% whole wheat flour, my husband immediately asked me how I changed the recipe. He told me to go back to regular flour. He thought it was “too grainy” So, there will definitely be a texture difference.
I substitute the regular flour 100% for a mixture of either spelt or buckwheat flour and almond flour. It is substantially heavier but still comes out edible. Doing it this way gives it a low glycemic index and ok for diabetics because it doesnt cause a big glucose spike.
I m totally addicted to this recipe…it is so so good! My mother-in-law gave us homemade raspberry jam right when I made this…needless to say both were gone in about 48 hours and most was eaten by me! Oops!
I’ve tried it with whole wheat flour and it’s a little heavy, but not bad.
We LOVE this bread in our house! I was bad one morning and put some Nutella on it and boy was that delicious
Oh we LOVE Nutella at our house we go through jars fast.:)
When substituting whole wheat flour for some or all of the white flour amount, remember that whole wheat absorbs more liquid that white and be prepared to adjust for it.
I’ve done half wheat English muffins and they turned out beautifully.
um that explains why i always have extra flour at the end! thanks!
That looks SO delicious. Yum!
BTW: That’s a LOT of yeast for two loaves…
I’m thinking it’s supposed to be 3 teaspoons. If you look at the original recipe which is doubled, she calls for 3 packages of yeast. Each package of yeast is about 2 1/4 teaspoons, which would be 6 3/4 teaspoons. Half of that would be about 3 to 3 1/2 teaspoons.
Whoops! Thanks so much for catching my mistake. I’ve fixed it.
That looks really good!! I am going to try this soon. Thanks for sharing Crystal.
My mom had a recipe for English muffin bread that she always made in the bread machine. I think was really similar.
Sounds delicious! I have had this on my list to try for a while now. It sounds like it would go great with the strawberry lemon marmalade that I canned last week!
http://whisktogether.wordpress.com/2011/08/13/strawberry-lemon-marmalade/
This looks awesome! I am going to can for the first time this weekend. I plan on trying this. Yummy!
Congrats! I was a little intimidated at first about home canning. However, when I got the few things I needed like the jars, lids and basket to put the jars into the stockpot – it really didn’t seem hard! Homemade is so delicious and I can make things that you can’t find anywhere else like this marmalade. I love giving it away as hostess gifts or part of a gift basket, too.
I’ve made english muffins and this looks much easier. Thanks!
Looks delicious!
Looking forward to trying this recipe!
I’m kind of a bread making novice, so this is a very basic question, but maybe someone can help me out:
What is the best way to let dough rise? I never know if I should heat my oven a tiny bit and put it in there, leave it on the counter, cover it or not, etc. Would appreciate any help!
I leave mine on my stovetop, which is also next to our wall oven (which is preheating), and it’s plenty warm. I’ve also known people to put it on top of their TV while they’re watching — it’s warm and they don’t forget about it!
The warmer the environment, the faster the dough rises. And a long cool rise is supposed to develop the best flavor, but it takes forever, so most bread recipes don’t call for that
Somewhere in the middle is usually best. If it’s really warm in your house (like 85 or 90), you might do fine with it on the counter. But probably your best bet is like Susan said–somewhere a little warmer than room temp. I usually do the heat-the-oven-a-little method and put the dough inside. You can cover it to prevent dust/other food from getting in and to keep it from drying out. But covering’s not usually essential. Give it a try–if you have good yeast and follow the recipe, you probably won’t go wrong! 
I’ve always covered my yeast doughs & placed them on top of the refrigerator… I watched my mother do it this way, and have always done the same.
This time of year you can even put it outside in a safe place to rise. My screen porch is a place safe from our naughyty squirrels who would be sure to check what is in the bowl if I put it on my deck.
I have a 5 quart round container with a sealable top that I call my “dough bucket”. I’ve run the dryer with a load of towels and then nestled the dough bucket inside (dryer off of course) the warm dry towels for an hour or so. The dough rises incredibly (I make sure I only fill it about one third because it rises so much).
I often have my bread rise in my cooler…I put a microwave hot pack in there with it (the kind that comes with a Pyrex carrier):
http://ourfrugalhappylife.blogspot.com/2011/10/rising-bread-in-cold-house.html
I’ve also done the same concept using the microwave…just don’t turn it on!
I run the dryer for a few minutes and then put it in there (with the dryer off, of course!). Works great!
If I wanted to use my breadmaker, do you think the same recipe would suffice?
Hmmmm…we love tuna melts on english muffins, but I often don’t want to buy them or make them (!)…what a great quick alternative. Thanks! =)
I noticed you only let it rise the one time in the pan. Did you use rapid rise yeast like she mentions in the original recipe? Or was that not necessary?
I used regular yeast. You could let it rise in the bowl first, then transfer to the pan and let it rise again.
I love, love, LOVE english muffin bread! But, I have yet to find a recipe that I like, so I’m excited to try this one out. So glad I saw this post!
If you use Rapid Rise or instant yeast, you can just dump it straight into the pans and let it rise. Then pop in the oven. I made this on Sunday for the first time, and it was/is a HUGE hit!
I can’t wait to try this with our homemade vanilla bean jam!
Crystal, your blog was the first one I read and I keep coming back as it is one of my favorites. Thank you for being such an inspiration!
Thank you so much for your kind encouragement!
Wait a minute… homemade vanilla bean jam? Sounds incredible! Do you mind sharing the recipe?
I made some english muffins last week. We really like fresh from the oven english muffins. I will have to add this recipe to my list to try. Thanks for sharing it.
Your pictures turned out beautiful!
My mom and I just made this last night and it is really good. We made the recipe that makes 4 loaves. This would be easier to handle:) I think our 2 year old is addicted!
I’ve never been good with making my own bread, and somehow I seem to always ruin it in a breadmaker too… I am wondering – about how long should it take for the loaf to rise each time? I can deal with “-ish” minutes or hours, but I am just wondering a ballpark figure…?
Around 45 minutes or so.
I made this yesterday, and used half whole wheat pastry flour. Taste is right on, but I should have added a little more water to it, as my dough was just a touch dry. Will be making again – SO simple!
I LOVE using pastry flour. It’s the secret to most of my recipes turning out the way they do- light and fluffy. I like to use about 1/3 pastry to 2/3 whole wheat.
My friend at Mom on a mission for Christ has a similar recipe. It is called shoe box bread and uses whole wheat bread and wheat gluten. It is delicious. I made it last night.
Anyone have bread machine recipe? This sounds yummy!
Yummm! I will be making this in my bread maker this evening after work. I have some peach preserves that will be delish on this.
Crystal, there is a great recipe for English Muffins that I have used for years in the Bread Beckers cookbook. It’s very easy to follow. And, my husbands just LOVES them
As always, thank you for sharing.
I use the same recipe, but mine calls for rapid rise yeast, which can be mixed right in with the flour (doesn’t have to mix w water first). I put it straight in the pans after mixing and let it rise once, then cook it. Works perfectly and tastes delish.
I made this all whole wheat flour and while it was still good I think half and half would be better. This is the first bread I ever made and we love it! I am glad for you recipe, mine is twice this and I cant seem to halve recipes by myself.
I can’t get enough of this bread. So darn delicious. I love having the 4 loaves. 1 for the fridge and 3 for the freezer (sliced). And honey and butter is how I love as Jillee suggests in her post/recipe. I did the rapid rise yeast for my impatient self
Yum! I don’t eat much bread anymore but will make an exception for this one!
I made this a few days ago. I used 1/2 ww and 1/2 white flour. Turned out good. Maybe a little dense. I also used my bread machine for the dough. It is VERY sticky, so it made a bit of a mess, but if I can’t use the bread machine, I don’t make it
hehe
i actually make this bread with all whole wheat all the time..and it’s perfect. i use wheat montana’s hard white wheat (you can purchase it at walmart—it’s chemical free and absolutely delicious!)
Try Alton Browns English Muffin recipe off the food network site. My husband loves english muffins but they are so expensive. I make a bread machine dough recipe and freeze a couple dozen every few weeks but the Alton Brown recipe only takes 30 minutes start to finish – no double rise or shaping of dough. It makes the best english muffins ever.
I like the King Arthur’s Flour recipe for english muffins. It does take a while, but I make them on my griddle so I cook several at once. I was so excited when they turned out just like the store bought kind! I’ve made them several times. I actually like to make an entire batch for breakfast sandwhiches and pop them in the freezer for busy mornings.
I tried it with 100% whole wheat. I was a little too much. So, I bet 50% would be good.
My husband loves english muffin bread, so I’m excited to try this. I’m wondering if you used a 9×5 bread pan or an 8×4 bread pan as used in the original recipe. I was just wondering if using a 9×5 bread pan would change the baking time or anything else.
By the way Crystal, thanks to you I now make all of my family’s bread and we love your whole wheat bread recipe. It’s been wonderful!
Thanks!
I just tried this today, ….and I’m not a good baker usually, but this was very easy! Clean up was easy too! I also tried your pizza crust and it’s great, a new staple for us, so I followed your freezer cooking and made several of those. Thanks for all the wonderful recipes!
You are so welcome! I’m glad it turned out well for you!
made this last night after reading this post, in little less than an hour my hubby and i sat on the couch eating the bread with homemade jelly, its really good and we didn’t care it was past midnight lol
This is good, warm from the oven, spread with butter, & served with a glass of milk!
great & easy! I made this with 2 cups of whole wheat flour and the rest white & it turned out perfect!
It looks yummy! Is there a yeast alternative that can be used?
I have made this with 100% white whole wheat flour, but if you do that you need to add some vital wheat gluten otherwise you get some really dense low rising loaves. They taste good, but don’t have the nice texture of English Muffin Bread. With a tablespoon or two of vital wheat gluten and 100% whole wheat it comes out GREAT!!!
Me and my kids are making this right now, its super easy, Im excited to see how it will turn out after reading these replies.
Made this over the weekend! Love it!! Much easier than English Muffins, same taste! I will be making this often!
I made this delicious bread today. It was super easy to make and oh-so moist. A new favorite! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
This was so easy and turned out well. I think next time I will add cinnamon and raisins just because that is my favorite type of english muffin.
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